Lily didn't mean to fall in love again. She really didn't. Nearly a year passed before she did, to her credit. But still, throughout her fourth year, she stuck to her new mantra: no falling in love. No love at all. Luckily, the opportunity never arose; however, she was afraid her weakened heart could fall for anyone in her state. Lily was easily swayed. It wasn't her favorite quality about herself.

Over the summer, no matter how lonely or sad she got, she made sure she didn't reach out to anyone for any sort of physical gratification—even though their third year seemed to have transformed the Scamander twins into quite handsome young men, and Lysander undoubtedly had a crush on her. Seeing them at family barbeques over the summer, she always considered it, pulling one of them to the side or inviting one up to her room. But whenever these possibilities passed through her mind, she felt a little empty inside, knowing it would mean nothing and knowing how trashy she would feel afterwards. Philip always made it clear no one could make her feel like he could, so why even try?

Lily Potter wanted to love someone. She liked loving someone. As horrible as Philip had been, she had found purpose in loving him. She liked the feeling. She simultaneously hated the feeling. But now, knowing how she cried at night, despite how fun and freeing the summer was supposed to be, she knew she wasn't ready to love again. She was too young. Too inexperienced. Too neglected.

Lily's fourth year began, just like every year at Hogwarts began: on a September first, packing her things in the morning. She felt sad. She felt hopeful. Every motion felt a little bitter sweet, as she packed up her sweaters, her Keds, her cigarillos (hidden with her tampons).

She wondered how it would feel not seeing Ava and Philip everywhere. She wondered how it would feel not seeing James everywhere, or Fred, or Molly. She still had Albus, but only for another year. She still had Rose, who, despite not being very close to, was fun to gossip with (listen to her gossip) every now and then. Lily wondered if she'd have another romance, or however much she and Philip were as a "romance." She hoped, if she did meet someone, it wouldn't play out the way it had before. But no—no romance. No falling in love, she reminded herself.

However, what Lily needn't know yet, was that she was safe, for the year. For a whole one more year, she would be free of questioning, devilish smiles, fleeting, heated stares and roaming hands. In fact, the year was more of a whirlwind for Rose Weasley. Rose hadn't the slightest idea of any sort of impending romance, and didn't suspect such opportunity after her brazen moves toward Philip, handsome head boy way out of her league, having utterly failed in what had to be one of her most embarrassing memories. She had spent the summer a tad bummed about it, but upon seeing Ava on stage making her speech, beautiful and perfect, she wondered why she ever thought she had a chance. It didn't matter that they had broken up; of course he would be hung up on Ava. Rose was nothing special.

Unbeknownst to Rose, in a train car somewhere else, Scorpius Malfoy tapped a pen against his journal, having just written the horrifying truth: I fancy someone.

Rose's first day of school was painful. She wondered if she was actually a walking disaster. Hurricane Rose, swirling through the halls and raining hard on everyone.

It began in potions, where she was assigned a seat beside Albus, thank Merlin. They passed notes through class as Professor Slughorn went over a summary of the course material. However, as the note was passed back, Rose's inkwell spilled when she reached for the parchment too excitedly. It landed right on her crotch, a large black spot spreading through the gray wool skirt. She screeched, jumping back, the glass well falling to the floor and shattering everywhere.

Slughorn's head jerked towards them, and the whole class turned to her, making noises of surprise and amusement. Immediately, he began to fuss over her, cleaning up the mess with a swipe of his wand and ordering her to take a trip back to her room for an outfit change. She was excused from class, embarrassed and bright red. As she passed between two rows, she felt eyes on her, and looking over, saw Scorpius Malfoy. However, he wasn't looking at her—just doodling in what looked like a leather-bound journal. She blushed harder, feeling silly for thinking someone who looked like he did would be looking at her. Even an amusing stain on her skirt wouldn't catch this particular boy's attention. This always distracted, slightly ditzy boy.

Back in her room, changed out of her ruined skirt, she considered just skipping the rest of the day. However, her mum's words echoed in her head—education is important. Don't skip any more class. Her words had been aimed toward Hugo over the summer, but it still stuck with her. She had always been school-oriented, just like her mum had been. Hermione's shoes were big ones to fill, but she wanted to be reminiscent of the great Hermione Granger in any way she could, brightest witch of her age. Well, it was a new age and she believed she could do it, too.

She headed back to potions, hoping to quietly slip back in (even though she was now clad in quite conspicuous blue jeans), but of course Slughorn greeted her loudly from where he stood behind a table laden with boiling pots of different colored potions. Everyone was standing, eight students total in her pre-NEWTs class, gathered around the table to get a peek at the concoctions.

"Ah, Miss Weasley, impeccable timing! We were just taking a look at some of the potions we'll be taking a look at this year. Do come closer. Come here, come quick." To Rose's discomfiture, he motioned for her to come stand beside him behind the table. Unable to refuse, everyone's eyes on her (she definitely had caught Scorpius' attention this time), she passed her classmates and stood to the side of the professor, unsure why he wanted her there.

"Go ahead, Rose, take a sniff of this one, and tell us what you smell," he said eagerly. There was a heavy silence as she followed his finger to the largest cauldron before them, brimming with pink liquid. Rose wasn't stupid. She knew it was amortentia, but had a feeling no one else did, as they also seemed curious as to what the catch was. She approached cautiously, having never actually dealt with such a mixture before. It wasn't exactly something one came across often. She had to admit, she was also curious, but would be damned if she told them the truth of what it smelled like.

She held her ginger curls back with her hand, throwing them over her shoulder and leaning forward slowly, despite how eager she was to take a deep breath in. Her face hovered over the cauldron, and she gradually inhaled. A soft euphoria filled her bones, an odd mix of relaxation, relief, and excitement. It was less of a smell as a sensation. But as a few seconds passed, she recognized several distinct scents that took her a moment to identify—

"I smell," a feminine sort of fragrance evocative of her mum, leather, smoke, and a fresh shower scent, like shampoo and conditioner…, "freshly mown grass and… new parchment." She stuttered a little, eyes darting down so as not to meet eyes with anyone.

"Excellent!" Slughorn exclaimed, making her jump. "What Miss Weasley has just described, students, is what she smells in Amortentia, the most powerful love potion on earth. Dangerous, yet seductive to the senses. Would anyone else like to smell?" Christine Chu's hand shot up, but Slughorn quickly shot her down, saying, "Well, that is just too bad, because class is over! Don't fret, we'll be dealing with this potion more in the future. Until next time!"

Albus waited for Rose to reclaim herself and follow him out, still a little shaken, trying to figure out where she recognized those scents.

"Freshly mown grass? New parchment?" Albus repeated skeptically. "Sounds a lot like the story Aunt Hermione tells about when she realized she loved Uncle Ron…"

Rose shrugged, her freckled nose and cheeks turning red, "Like mother like daughter, I guess." Albus still looked disbelieving, but didn't pursue the subject, however inquisitive he felt. That's what Rose liked about Albus—he knew when to let things go. Hugo didn't have this ability—in fact, he was too snoopy for his own good, and Rose found it hard to get rid of him sometimes. Luckily he was too young to cross paths with her that much at school.

Her next class brought even more pain—this time in the form of further mortification. She was paired up with Scorpius Malfoy in Magical Political Science. Each pair was supposed to work together for their first project to create an ideal society, complete with some sort of government and policy making, down to details like apparition laws and the education system to be presented as their final project. After going over the course content for the year, they had the last fifteen minutes of class to discuss planning with their partners.

Rose turned her chair to face Scorpius, nervous to meet his icy blue eyes. She had always found those eyes unsettling, but had never really had to face them until now. Rose found brown eyes much less intimidating—more solid, more trustworthy, like her mum's and like her brother's. Like Albus' and Nana's. Blue eyes were clear, bright, and almost too beautiful. She had always been jealous and scared of the piercing stare Lily, her young cousin, could inflict upon her, but looking at Scorpius was nothing like Lily. Lily could offer a smile, an eye-roll, the familiar Weasley freckles and red hair. Scorpius was an enigma—white-blond hair, cropped short but not too short, skin flawless and ivory, lips soft and pink, almost feminine in their fullness and bloom. His cheeks always seemed to be a little ruddy like he had been in the cold, even when it was hot outside. His canine teeth were just a little too long beside his incisors, giving him almost a villainous look. It drew girls to him, and had since he blossomed into this beautiful creature in third year—his fanged smile convincing every girl that he was the bad boy they could tame.

What they didn't know, and what Rose didn't know, was that he was already tamed—always had been. Even the Malfoy name couldn't convince him otherwise. Although all those girls didn't know, she had always had a feeling. His leather journal was pushed to the side, and she wondered what he wrote in there, but knew it wasn't any sort of sordid account of rebellion or carnal act like some might be led by pure judgment to believe.

"Hi," Scorpius said, simply. Rose waited for him to say something else, but after waiting several seconds, realized it was her turn.

"Hi, I'm Rose," she said, unsure if she should just assume he knew who she was.

"Yeah, I know."

Rose pressed her lips together to hide a frown and muttered, "Oh."

The flow of conversation (what little there was) seemed to stop there. His eyes didn't leave hers, and she wished she had those same piercing blue eyes like her dad did, like Lily did, like even Victoire and the ever gorgeous Dominique did. She felt intimidated by that color, and felt at a disadvantage, with her caramel-colored eyes, completely comfortable and in no way unsettling. He was so beautiful this up close, she felt embarrassed to even meet his gaze.

Rose knew she was pretty, she had been told as much her whole life. While not as pretty as Lily or her mother, and definitely not as beautiful as Dom, she still had an appeal; a lovely smile that could win over anyone, hair bright and always in tumbling, voluminous ringlets, however messy it might get. After giving up on moussing her hair into crunchy, tiny curls, she found that her big, bouncy hair actually looked quite pretty in a more natural state—in what Dominique fussed over in the most flattering way, insisting it looked like "sex hair" and that boys absolutely loved that. However, Rose still hadn't embraced her naturally big-boned, full body. She wore lumpy, oversized sweaters to hide it, but it was obvious she wasn't stick-skinny, or even an attractive fat like the last head girl, Ava, had been. Ava was soft and plump and round in a curvaceous manner that boys stared at in awe. Rose was full in a way that made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin, like she was wearing a space suit. She was made of small breasts, wide hips, rolls in her stomach, and slumped shoulders that revealed just how unappealing she felt.

Rose often wondered what it felt like to feel so sure of yourself, comfortable in your own skin and beautiful and confident. Looking into Scorpius' gaze, she was lost and confused in an awkward, heavy silence, in a gaze too sharp and stunning to feel normal or like any ordinary witch. She wondered if every girl felt this way looking at him. It was hypnotizing, and not exactly relaxing. She shook herself out of her trance, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap.

"So, I guess we should figure out when our schedules free up," Rose said. She didn't dare to look up again, just listened as Scorpius read out his schedule. Rose cut in every now and then to interject with her own concurrent free time, and they drew up meeting times for the next month. Again, he wrote in his leather-bound book. A diary, perhaps?

Now, ending the class this way would have been fine with Rose. Perhaps she had been awkward and stiff around the allusive Scorpius Malfoy, but it hadn't been entirely painful. Unfortunately, the class period wasn't quite over yet.

Suddenly, Dominique was skidding into the classroom, her hair in crazy curls like they were when she hadn't had time to style it, her Gryffindor tie thrown over her shoulders but not done up. Her usually lovely, shiny pink lips were curled in a snarl as her eyes landed on Rose.

"Miss Dominique Weasley," Professor Pearl exclaimed, "you're late! By 45 minutes, actually."

"It wasn't my fault," Dominique shouted, her tone quite nasty. She pointed an accusatory finger at Rose, storming towards her, her facial expression absolutely terrifying, just like Fleur's when she was angry. "It was Rose!"

"What?" Rose managed to whisper in her surprise, only her new handsome colleague able to hear. Scorpius' eyes were also swiveled toward her wild-looking cousin, Dominique's finger still stabbing the air like it had done her personal wrong.

"You didn't wake me up! I just now woke up! I knew you didn't like me, I knew you were always jealous of me, but I had no idea you would be so spiteful!" Dominique raved, huffing and puffing.

"Dom, why are you—?" Rose began, but the professor quickly cut off the interrogation before it got out of hand. Dominique was known for causing scenes and being surrounded by her own created drama, but the first day of school, with absolutely no warning, and toward one of her closest family members was a little out of character. Rose had seen her mad, but never at her. And jealousy? Okay, she wished she could be liked and prettier the way Dom was, but never had been malicious because of it. She tried to recall that morning, and indeed remembered Dominique still lying in bed as she left for breakfast—but, in her defense, so were a lot of other girls. She got up very early and didn't ever dare wake up Dom from her beauty sleep.

Pearl: "Now, Miss Weasley—," they both turned to her, and she quickly clarified, "—Dominique Weasley, I have no idea what makes you think you can come in like this and disturb class. Now, if you have something to say to Miss Weasley—ahem—Rose, then now is really not the time nor place."

Dominique checked herself, visibly calmed, her hair which seemed to have been standing on end relaxing a bit with her, as if exhaling a breath of relief. She spoke, "You know what? I am so sorry, Professor Pearl. I was acting inappropriately and I hope you'll forgive me. If it's alright, I would like to speak briefly with my cousin in private." Dominique narrowed her eyes at Rose, crossing her arms across what looked like a random, crumpled sweater she had picked up hastily off the floor, inside seams and tag showing.

"That's quite alright. Five minutes, and then you'll join Scorpius and Rose's group since everyone seems to already be paired for our first project. Go on, Rose." Pearl motioned for them to leave the classroom. Rose felt every eye stab into her as she rose slowly from her seat, especially Scorpius, and she felt quite like disappearing and forgetting this whole day.

Dominique strode out ahead of her, huffing as she walked, as if Rose was forcing her to do this. Rose entered the hallway behind her cousin, and as the classroom door shut behind her, Dom whipped around with a bright smile.

"Was I brilliant, or what?" Dominique asked, twirling a strand of strawberry blonde hair around her finger. Rose's jaw dropped, although she wasn't completely surprised Dom had done such a thing.

"Really? You had to embarrass me in front of everyone so we could get out of class for five minutes?" Rose raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Um, no. I embarrassed you so we could skip class." Dominique linked her arm through Rose's and started tugging her down the hallway.

"But Pearl expects us back…"

Dominique laughed but otherwise ignored her comment, starting to chatter about how lucky they were to be in a group with Sexy Scorpius and which one of them would hook up with him, and would Rose be so selfless as to let her be the one? Rose blushed through her ranting, thinking about those blue eyes and that intense stare, reviewing her embarrassment—the stain in potions, the failed introduction, the prospect of more time together, and being yelled at in front of everyone by her own family. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time in front of a whole classroom and on the first day of school.

They wandered around the castle for approximately fifteen minutes before Rose cracked down on her cousin, insisting they head back. Once they headed back, however, the classroom was empty, but one boy lingered. Dominique immediately let go of Rose, flitting over to Scorpius with an easy smile. Rose trailed behind a bit, not wanting to be a third wheel. However, Scorpius seemed to notice her, his eyes darting over to her every once in a while as Dominique confirmed their project meetings and penciled them into her extravagant planner.

Dominique boldly invited him to eat dinner at the Gryffindor table with her, and he nodded vaguely, seeming as if he was not particularly taken with her.

Sure enough, at dinner, Rose sat with Dominique (trying not to admit to herself that it was in hopes of a certain boy sitting with them), Albus, and Lily, no Scorpius in sight. He entered halfway through dinner, and Dom perked up, about to raise her arm to catch his attention, but he never met her eyes and headed straight toward the Slytherin table to sit with his own crowd.

Dominique scowled before shrugging and muttering "maybe he's gay."

"No, he isn't," Albus said immediately. Everyone looked to him in surprise.

"What?" Dominique said, echoing the question Rose also felt asking.

"I just mean… he's in my house and I've known him forever. He's not gay." Albus shrugged, avoiding eye contact. Lily was smirking to herself, which Dominique noticed and took as a personal attack.

"What's so funny, Lily?" Dominique snapped. Although Dom and Rose had always gotten on alright, for some reason, Lily had never sat well with their Veela cousin.

"Just that you can't handle a straight boy not fawning over you. It's like Philip all over again," Lily said, her tone flat, like always. While Dom's voice seemed to rise up and down in a sing-song matter, Lily was always matter-of-fact, her voice level, unamused even while she grinned. Rose felt a little unsettled too—although she loved Lily, her presence was a little odd. Lily almost never sat with them, was usually alone, only accommodated with them when Albus was at the Gryffindor table to sit with his siblings. Hearing Lily say something with all of them there was a change of pace.

Something else: although her tone was level, there was an edge in the way she said Philip's name. Dominique had tried to get with Philip several times in the past and had failed each and every time, wailing her woes to them at each occasion. Rose thought it was because he had always been with Ava when she made her move, but Rose knew he was unattainable even separated from the flawless head girl. Not that she was as seductive as Dominique or anything, but she had a feeling he only had eyes for Ava, even when Dom insisted that he wasn't faithful—she had heard whispers of other girls, although hardly anyone believed it. She said she had a reliable source, however, but wouldn't reveal who.

Rose briefly wondered if Lily had also made a move and was bitter about it—but the thought was so ridiculous she couldn't believe it one bit. Little Lily hadn't even been kissed yet, as far as she knew.

"Excuse you, Lily, but Philip is nothing like Scorpius. Scorpius isn't in a relationship," Dom explained. "Philip would totally get with me now that he's done with Ava; he's just graduated now so I can't make a move."

Lily didn't reply, just flipped her hood up over her dark red hair to hide her expression and continued to pick at her chips.

"I wonder why Scorpius has never had a girlfriend," Rose said, meaning to think it to herself but voicing it instead. Albus rolled his eyes, turning to Lily and talking quietly with her instead of engaging in more conversation about one of his oldest friends.

"Oh!" Dominique exclaimed, raising her hand like she was in class. "It's because he's waiting for the right girl. I mean, look at him. He's a settle-down kind of guy."

"But you only want to have sex with him," Rose muttered.

"Sex? Who said anything about sex? I'm a virgin," Dominique said condescendingly. She had been keeping up her virgin ruse since the beginning of the summer, but everyone knew what happened (could hear) her seven minutes in heaven during James' graduation party with Michael Zabini in a cupboard. Her silencing charm had been heard ('silencio' had resonated from the inside of the enclosed space) but hadn't worked, and no one seemed to have the heart to tell her they could hear every noise they both made. Some guessed Michael had purposely made sure it didn't work for bragging rights.

"Okay, you just want to hook up with him," Rose acquiesced nicely. Dominique didn't reply, seemingly lost in thought as she gazed across the dining hall at Scorpius, eating alone at the end of the table where he usually sat with Albus.

"I wonder why he isn't sitting with us. I mean, Albus is here." Dominique sighed, pushing her plate away and saying, "I'm not hungry anymore."

As they grew silent, Rose tuned in to the Potter siblings' conversation.

"I just want a new tutor. We really don't need him to help anymore," Lily was saying, her voice low. Once she had hit puberty a couple of years ago, her voice had dropped and roughened in a way that would probably be sexy one day. For now, her voice was mismatched with her small frame.

Albus replied, "I don't see what the big deal is. Philip helped you so much with potions. We don't need you failing this time. And now Mum and Dad can pay him, so he has no incentive to say no. He already told us he's free on the weekends so you two can meet up at Hogsmeade."

"Oh, please. Like I want to spend my weekends at Hogsmeade studying."

Dominique's attention piqued and she cut in, "Oh my gosh, Philip is going to tutor you? And you're seriously saying no right now? I can't deal with you."

A sigh emanated from under the shadow of the hoodie, but Lily refrained from speaking, tension resonating in the air around her.

"Okay, don't give her any ideas. Lily's only 14. My god, what's wrong with you, Dom?" Albus imparted, shaking his head.

"Of course I didn't mean for her to do anything, I just mean I'm so jealous and it's not fair. I'm not good at potions, either." Dominique crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Lily finally spoke, sharply, "Yeah, well then why don't you hire him as your tutor?"

"Maybe I will!" Dominique exclaimed defiantly.

"Why do you have to be like this, Dom? I'm trying to do some good for my little sister, here," Albus spat.

"Guys, come on," Rose interceded.

"You're all annoying. Bye," Lily intoned, abruptly standing up and leaving the table. Dominique's jaw dropped as she walked off.

"Bitch," Dom muttered. Albus gave her a sharp look, quickly getting up and racing after his sister. Clearly stung, Dominique turned to Rose and said insolently, "Well, thank Merlin they're gone. Where's Roxy?" She whipped her head side to side. "She's so fun. Those Potters are such bummers. Except James. Ugh, I miss James."

Dominique continued to talk out her arse for the next half hour as they ate, but Rose hardly paid her any mind, glancing up to see that Scorpius was now getting up, looking at her as he walked out. She felt her chest constrict. His eyes seemed to beckon her, and she couldn't resist.

"I have to go," Rose said, stopping Dom mid-sentence and leaving before she could say anything.

"What the hell? Why is my family crazy?" Dom said to no one, stabbing a fork into her limp salad and wondering once again how she ended up with such strange relatives when she was so perfectly normal.

"Hey," Rose called, skidding around a corner and stopping Scorpius by putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, his light eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise. Unfortunately, Rose hadn't thought past this point.

"Hey. Rose, right?" he said. Rose paused in alarm, but then relaxed when he smiled. "I'm just fucking with you."

She laughed uneasily, "Right. Well… where are you headed to?" She wrung her hands together in front of her, feeling uncomfortable and nervous. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She had been fine around Philip before, completely sure of herself and what she was doing. Now she was hyper aware of everything—how long and big and awkward her arms were, and how heavy and hot her sweater was around her torso.

"I'm just headed to the library to get some homework done. Can you believe it? I already have a workload, and it's only the first day." Scorpius' smile was less villainous than usual, soft in a way, almost intimate. Her heart skipped around. After a pause, seeming to look her over and consider something for a moment, he asked, "Do you want to come with?"

Rose, taken aback, knowing she wanted to say yes but not sure how, opened her mouth and let out a small breath, speechless. Scorpius gave her on odd look, tilting his head in an inquisitive manner. Finally, snapping to, she blurted out, "Yes! Yes, let's go."

Rose fell into step beside him. They walked in silence until they settled at a table and took out their work. They both had arithmancy that day and started working through it together. It soon became clear Rose was a natural at the subject and Scorpius was rather lost.

As she guided him through a question, she found herself leaned toward him, their cheeks inches from each other, their arms completely pressed together. Rose was hardly paying attention, heat radiating through her body and seizing her throat until her explanation trailed off into nothing. Several times she tried to keep talking, but eventually she gave up. In that moment, she would've given anything to know what he was thinking, to know what this young, beautiful wizard was thinking. If he was feeling what she was feeling, if he couldn't think like she couldn't think…

Rose turned her head to him, not anticipating how close his face would be. He turned to her just a moment after, and their noses brushed each other. Instead of pulling away, she stayed still, and so did he. She waited for the rejection. The disgust. The embarrassment. She waited for him to react like her first crush had when she was six and had cooties, or like Philip had just last year. But he stayed like a cornerstone, as still as she was. Their breaths mingled in a charged moment. This boy she didn't know—oh, no, this beautiful enemy she didn't know—

He kissed her. Scorpius kissed her, softly, in that dark, secluded corner of the library where nobody saw. If it wasn't for her hyperactive memory, she might've convinced herself afterwards that it didn't happen. But no, his lips against her was as real as magic.

His tongue nudged against her lips, and she accidentally opened her mouth too wide too soon, but it didn't matter, because his arms pulled her to the edge of her seat around her waist and deepened the kiss just like she hadn't meant to. But now, she embraced the accident, kissing him back fervently.

They pulled away for a moment, their breaths in sync, and his forehead against hers. "I've wanted this for so long, Rose," he whispered. "I fancy you."

Rose's eyes slid closed in content. For some reason, she wasn't surprised by his admission. There was a chemical attraction between them she couldn't deny, and she couldn't figure out why she was just noticing it now. To think he had felt this way for so long… to think he had wanted this for so long, and she had been floating through classes, never noticing until today and an inkwell spilling on her skirt finally made her look up and see.

They kissed, slowly now, until Scorpius pulled away and asked her a question that was the start of everything.

"Do you want to go out sometime?"

Somewhere across the castle, Lily was by herself, wandering through a corridor and feeling especially alone. She had no idea about Scorpius, or Scorpius and Rose for that matter. She didn't know that this moment would be the start of everything. Because if it weren't for that fateful kiss in the corner of the library, the beginning of her cousin's great love, she never would've paid any notice to Scorpius, not in particular. Lily never would've fallen in love with him.

Lily was taking a late night stroll for a midnight snack at the kitchens when she saw something odd. Something juicy. Something Dominique probably didn't know about.

Slipping behind a tapestry into a hidden corridor, she turned and jumped back, barely able to contain a gasp of surprise. However, she remained silent at what she saw: Rose and Scorpius, snogging. It had to be one of the weirdest and most disgusting things she'd ever seen. First of all, Rose had obviously never kissed anyone before, because it was the sloppiest kiss she'd been witness to. Scorpius seemed to be trying to contain it, but it was still rather grotesque. It was like they were combating with their mouths. Suddenly the term 'tonsil hockey' made more sense to Lily. To her own personal horror, she wondered if this is what it looked like when she made out with someone.

Second of all, Dominique had been raving about Scorpius for the past several weeks, ever since the first day of school. She talked about heated glances they shared ("eye sex," Dom insisted), how their hands brushed, how he made every excuse to be with her (even though it seemed rather like he just needed her to show up to their group project meetings, but still, she took it as a very personal invitation), and how it was any day now that he'd ask her out, or throw her against a wall and have his way with her. It was torture nowadays to sit with Dominique, and Lily tried to do so as little as possible, but she found herself missing her family more and more now that half of them had graduated. So Lily always sat with Albus, who also missed family therefore would always sit with Rose, and Rose would always sit with Dom. Do the math.

Lily wondered how Rose could sit through that every day and not say anything. Rose never even seemed bothered. Sometimes she would even chime in with agreement, like "he was totally checking you out just now." This seemed like an odd thing for someone to say who was having what seemed to be a sordid affair with the boy in question.

Lily didn't know who she was more surprised by—Rose or Scorpius. How did Rose get such a good-looking guy? And how did Scorpius, with his Malfoy bloodline, fancy Rose? Watching them kissing, Lily was almost impressed with Rose. Snagging a gorgeous guy her dad had practically insisted she avoid at all costs, and stealing a boy from her cousin and friend. Lily had no idea she had it in her. She wondered if she had been underestimating Rose this whole time.

Lily meant to slip back out quietly, but at that moment, Scorpius had pulled away for air (he might've been drowning, from the looks of it, Lily thought) and caught sight of her.

"Oh," he cleared his throat, "hi." He made a point to look very purposely from Rose to Lily, indicating she look over, too. Rose jumped away, gasping and stuttering over Lily's name. Lily was too amused to be shocked anymore.

"Hey, Rosie," Lily said, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side, her smile absolutely devious and too old for her age, Rose thought.

"L-L-Lil—," Rose sputtered, holding out a hand as if for a timeout. Lily didn't understand why she was so desperate, as if Lily was about to run off and tell on her to Dom. She didn't even like Dom. But she'd take as much entertainment out of this moment as she could. Rose took a deep breath, her arm still stretched out, palm facing Lily, "Lily, this isn't what it looks like."

Lily didn't know Scorpius, but they shared a confused look in a rare moment of camaraderie. "Um… so you two weren't sucking face?" Lily questioned, eyebrows furrowed, her smile as bright as ever.

"Yeah, we were," Scorpius said unapologetically. Lily wished he would reevaluate his snogging skills before being so proud about it.

"Well, yes, we were, but we aren't—I mean, we aren't exclusive or anything—," Rose rushed out, but seemed to just be digging herself in a deeper pit, as Scorpius whipped toward her.

"Wait, are you dating other people?" Scorpius snapped.

"Damn," Lily muttered, which the quarreling couple ignored.

"No! No, I just mean, no one knows yet," Rose explained, voice whiney. Lily cringed.

"Can I just interject?" Lily said without waiting for a response. "If it's Dominique you're worried about, who gives a fuck. She's a bitch and Scorpius isn't daft enough to fall for the whole Virginal Veela Victoire act. And I'm sure she'll get over it. Also, it's kind of hurtful that you think I'd tell anyone. Well, except Albus. I can't wait to tell Albus."

Rose's shoulders slumped in relief, but Scorpius seemed to perk up in anxiety.

"Albus? Wait, no, don't tell Albus!" Scorpius cried. Now it was Rose's turn to be angry, and she swiftly turned on him.

"Why not? Are you ashamed of me or something?" she sniveled. Her voice was actually hurting Lily's sensitive ears.

"No, it's just that Albus is one of my oldest friends. I'm afraid he'll kick my ass for snogging his cousin."

Rose and Lily laughed simultaneously.

"Like he cares," Rose said.

"Like he'd give two fucks," Lily agreed. "He probably cares as much as I do. Which is not a bit. I don't care at all. So… as you were." She turned to leave, but Scorpius interjected, insisting he leave first.

"I need to head to bed anyways," he explained. Rose was already rushing out, embarrassment starting to seep in as she wondered how long Lily had been standing there. "Wait!" Scorpius called after her, rushing to keep up with his unofficial girlfriend. He accidentally bumped against Lily, and in doing so, knocked something out of his robes pocket. He apologized to Lily but didn't seem to notice having lost anything and continued to push through the tapestry.

Lily looked down where the object had landed next to her feet. She bent down and examined it, finding it to be a leather-bound journal. Lily felt a mischievous thrill run through her as she opened the first page and saw the first line: Albus finally told me his secret today.

Scorpius had ransacked the Slytherin sixth year dormitory, looking for his journal. He was drunk with anxiety and desperation—anxious that someone found it, desperate to get it back. He tried to retrace his steps, over and over, and still he didn't know where it could be. It always led back to the memory of him shedding his clothes after a long day of school and a late night with Rose, robes dropped on the floor with the rest of his discarded clothing, journal safely hidden in the robes' pocket.

Scorpius found himself collapsing behind his bed, wedged between it and the wall, where he had pushed back the whole thing to look under, even though he knew it absolutely couldn't be there. He pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his hands, eyes tearing up in anger and frustration. He had written a lot in there. A lot of embarrassing things and a lot of secrets. He had written all about every crush he'd ever had in there, every test he'd ever failed, every time his dad had yelled at him and the times his mum had miscarried. He had written about their family's money troubles, every sadness he'd ever felt, oh no, oh Merlin… Albus' secret was the first thing written in there, when he had told Scorpius in first year.

But Scorpius had class in ten minutes, and he didn't have the option of moping around his dorm all day. Besides, maybe some Good Samaritan had found it and would return it to him in class, unopened. He wasn't very hopeful about this prospect.

He imagined the worst possible situation. The worst person whose hands it could've fallen into. Dominique Weasley. Argus Filch. Michael Zabini. Peeves.

Scorpius made eye contact with every person he passed in the hall, every person he sat with at meals or in class, even professors, even the first years, even the house elves flitting about, even the ghosts. Looking for a smirk, a knowing look, any indication that they knew all his secrets—but no, everyone seemed normal, eyes passing over him or not looking at all.

During political science, Dominique sat to his right, Rose to the right of her. Whenever Dominique got there early, she always claimed the seat in the middle so that he had to sit next to her. She kept leaning toward him throughout the lesson to whisper things in his ear, and he felt like it may actually drive him mad. It might also drive him mad that it didn't seem to be driving Rose mad.

"Do you want to sit with me at dinner?" Dominique whispered, and he almost jumped out of his skin when her hand landed on his leg under the table. "Tonight's crab night, and I know you love crab."

Scorpius' head whipped toward her, his eyes blazing. "How do you know that?!" he exclaimed, a little too loud for the classroom setting they were currently in. Dominique seemed taken aback, and several students around them stopped their reading to turn and look at him.

"Um," Dominique hummed, offering a sheepish smile to everyone who was looking. They all turned away and she continued, "You mentioned it last week, I think." Her pretty bluebell eyes were confused, her smile sweet and innocent. He shook his head, trying to remind himself that Dominique was no evil mastermind, as naughty as she tried to seem.

Scorpius looked over to see Rose absorbed in the class reading, and he wondered how she could just ignore her cousin like that. I mean, she was all over him. If his cousin was bugging Rose like that, he would say something, or at least have the decency to act jealous, if even just a little bit.

Wait. Her cousin.

Lily was ambushed on her way to the library.

It was her first day with a new potions tutor, and she was excited. Well, excited that the tutor wasn't Philip, but the new head girl, Carmen Morales. Carmen was petite, nice, smart, and had a dry sense of humor, just like Lily. She didn't even feel the usual dread that came with having to work on potions. Their session was supposed to start at 5 and it was 5:03, so she was in a bit of a rush. That's why, when Scorpius Malfoy jumped in front of her seemingly out of nowhere, her excitement dissipated along with her punctuality.

"Hey, Lily," Scorpius said casually, but his blue eyes were narrowed in consideration.

"Hi," Lily said uneasily. "I don't think we've officially met! I'm Lily—."

"Cut the bullshit. You have it. I can see it in your eyes," Scorpius shouted, making Lily place a startled hand over her heart and retreat a step.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Stop yelling at me," Lily said, her voice level but still defensive.

"You took my journal," Scorpius said.

"Diary. I took your diary," Lily clarified, smiling coolly. Scorpius felt like slapping her, but knew slapping a 14-year-old girl wouldn't go over very well with anyone—especially her older brothers. He almost began to start yelling again when she reached into her bag and pulled it out, handing it back to him. He snatched it back a little too violently

"Don't worry, I didn't read much," she said, shrugging.

"So, you know? About…?"

"About Albus? Oh please, I've known that for a while. Don't act like you're so special. Also, I had no idea Rose was such a boring lay. Huh." Lily shrugged, beginning to head past him. He reached out and stopped her, a hand to her chest. Her chest may have been flat, but it still made her uncomfortable—his hand was settled right where her cleavage would've been, and once he realized, he quickly pulled away, ears turning red.

"Wow, she must be even more boring than I thought if you're coming on to her fourth year cousin," Lily said, holding in a laugh as his face turned red in anger and probably embarrassment.

"Stop that," he snapped. "You read the whole thing! And don't tell Rose I said that… she's… I meant, it was her first time, so I understand." He was so red Lily wondered if he would match her hair soon.

"Didn't sound like what you wrote. You were pretty mean. I didn't know you had it in you," Lily said. "But calm down, I only read the highlights of it. If it got too real, I stopped reading. But the parts about Dominique were hilarious."

Scorpius considered her for a second before realizing something he should've known the whole time: Lily was harmless. Absolutely, completely safe. She was just a 14-year-old girl, not malicious and definitely not a gossip. She was no Dominique and wouldn't cause any damage like Peeves would. Considering what could've happened, he had gotten lucky.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, sighing in relief.

"No problem. You have the beginnings of a great comedian."

"No, I don't mean that. I mean, thanks for keeping it safe for me," he said, smiling at her. She paused, taken aback by the warmth in his expression and how his usually cold eyes seemed to brighten with reprieve. He patted her shoulder, and she wanted to slap his hand away, but refrained. His touch felt… it was unsettling.

Lily tried to swallow the lump in her throat then replied, "Of course."

"Well, I guess you know all of my secrets now. This isn't how I wanted it to happen," Scorpius said, his smile softening until it almost disappeared in his faux solemnity.

"If it would make you feel better, 'obliviate' always works," Lily suggested, and they shared a brief laugh before he reminded her that was illegal. "What are you, a cop?"

"Someday," Scorpius said, "but I believe you already know that." He tapped his journal, and Lily sighed.

"The enigmatic Scorpius has wasted before me," Lily said, faking disappointment. What he didn't know that he had become all the more interesting to her.

Scorpius rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest, "Then I must be off to find out more secrets and do more mysterious things. I can't lose all my charm, can I?"

"Oh, shit!" Lily said, checking her watch. It was 5:20. "I have to go! Bye!"

She raced past him and off to the library. But even as she met up with Carmen and profusely apologized, and even as she opened her primary text and tried to delve into potion-making, she was still thinking about overlooked Scorpius and his undeniable charm.

Rose had been so careful. As Dominique's lust turned into obsession towards Scorpius, she hardly even flinched. When Scorpius sat with them and traced patterns on her thigh with his index finger under the table, she never even shuddered. When Lily smirked at her or made a suggestive comment having to do with her torrid love affair, she hardly even scoffed.

All it took were six little words and it all fell to pieces.

Roxanne had seen Rose and Scorpius holding hands in the library several times, even saw him kiss her on the cheek once. Having not spent any time with Dominique that year, she had no remnant of a clue that Dom had been fancying him for a while now, nor that the relationship was a secret. Being a Hufflepuff and spending most of her time with her other Hufflepuff friends, she hardly spent any time with her family anymore—and since Fred had graduated, much like Lily, whose older brother had graduated as well, she felt a tad detached from the family's comings and goings. Hoping to seem in on all the buzz (not realizing she would be causing the buzz herself), she sat with the motley crew of Weasleys at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast, and off-the-cuff, asked Rose "So how are you and Scorpius?"

Lily choked on her bite of porridge, coughed, and then collapsed into silent laughter, smothered with both hands, blue eyes shining with amusement. Rose's spoon fell from her grasp and clattered to the table. Dominique perked up in a very unhappy way, frowning and exposing every line in her delicate, ivory face. Albus gasped, and then clapped a hand over his mouth.

"What?" Roxanne said, furrowing her bushy eyebrows and looking around in confusion. "Have I said something wrong? Aren't you two dating?"

"No, they most certainly are not," Dom spat, but suspicion was clear in her cold eyes. "Are you?"

All eyes turned to Rose.

Oh Merlin, she had been so careful.

How did Roxy know?

Rose thought back to the past week. Scorpius had always wanted to go public with their relationship, since the moment they had first kissed. But Rose had stepped away. Sensing her becoming distant, he had done what you always shouldn't do—he clung even tighter to her, hoping she would come to her senses and want to be with him, too. This week, however, he had been intensely insistent that they become exclusive and official. He was sure they were exclusive, but he wanted everyone to know it. Rose had been unsure about this prospect.

Rose really liked Scorpius, and the thought of him with Dominique bugged her more than it should for someone who didn't want to be in a relationship with him. She knew she wanted to be with him the way he wanted to be with her. But even more strongly than that feeling was Rose's need to please—and she had been desperately avoiding this exact, very unpleasant, moment.

Rose's silence was more than enough response for Dominique.

Dom was up and gone before she could get a word out edgewise, and Roxy was left grasping for words.

"I don't know what I've done wrong, but I think I fucked up," Roxy stated, quite uselessly.

Through Lily's giggles, she replied, "Yes, Rox, you fucked up."

The next day, Rose didn't stop Scorpius from holding her hand as they walked down the hallway together. She didn't stop him when he leaned down to kiss her. She didn't stop him when he hugged her goodbye. She wanted to stop the gawking—surely the thoughts that were behind the gawking, such as "how did a girl like that get a guy like him?"

Lily was a witness to the public displays, and unfortunately was present for the gawking. She heard a girl say to her friend "is that Rose Weasley?"

Lily chuckled under her breath. Who else could it be, with that scraggly red hair? A bitter, petty part of Lily thought several mean thoughts in fast succession, all about Rose and all about her appearance. She stood up a bit straighter, appalled at herself, and tried to humble herself with her own self-loathing thoughts—such as "you're too skinny and short, you hardly have breasts, you have no fashion sense, and your shoulders slump. Now stop dragging down Rose."

Lily couldn't help the bitterness. Seeing cute couples together made her jealous, which confused her, because she'd never felt the need to be in a relationship. Relationships seemed rather boring, and she'd rejected any possibility of one and exclusively liked boys that were emotionally (or otherwise) unavailable. The way Scorpius and Rose's lips fit together was practiced, and Lily couldn't help but notice how natural it seemed and how soft Scorpius' lips looked, melding against her cousin's. Good kisser, she thought.

Someone ran into the back of Lily just as an odd feeling was spreading through her chest, interrupting her thoughts and reminding her to get on to class. She couldn't miss class anymore. If she did, Slughorn said he would make her get a tutor again.

Lily hurried past Rose as she entered her classroom, offering her an awkward smile. She smiled back, a bit awkwardly too. She turned back to face the hallway as someone bumped into her shoulder. It was Scorpius.

"Hey, watch it!" he snapped, smiling down at her.

"Shut up," she mumbled, smiling the rest of the way back to her class.